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Settling in

Settling in Ho Chi Minh City

Saigon is quickly tamed, as long as you take the steps in the right order: each person's visa then residence card, carried by the employer, the consular register, housing near the school, health insurance, a SIM card and a bank account. Here is what we would have liked to know before arriving, checked against official sources.

Verified on 31 October 2026

Arrival and first steps

French citizens enter visa-free for 45 days, but settling in requires a long-stay visa then a temporary residence card, usually obtained by the employer for the whole family. The consulate, on Nguyen Thi Minh Khai street, remains your town hall and prefecture.

Good to know

  • Since 15 August 2023, French nationals are exempt from a visa for stays of up to 45 days, entry and exit days included, with a passport still valid for six months on arrival. Source
  • Beyond 45 days, a visa is compulsory: the e-visa, applied for on the Vietnamese immigration portal, covers up to 90 days with multiple entries, but cannot be extended on the spot and any overstay must be settled before leaving the country. Source
  • To settle in, the employer carries the file: work permit, work visa then temporary residence card, and the accompanying family's visas are attached to it. For any visa question, the consulate refers you to the Vietnamese immigration services. Source
  • Registration with the French consular register is free, valid 5 years and done online on service-public.fr: French ID, recent photo and proof of residence in Vietnam (lease, utility bill, local police residence certificate), translated into French or English. Source
  • The register unlocks AEFE school grants for children at the Lycée Marguerite Duras or Boule et Billes, voting from abroad and the consulate's ability to reach you in an emergency. Source
  • Week 1, in order: SIM card, bank account with passport and visa, temporary residence declaration by your landlord at the ward police (ask for the certificate), choice of a family clinic, then consular registration as soon as you have an address. Source

Addresses

  • Consulat général de France à Hô Chi Minh-Ville

    Consulate

    27 Nguyễn Thị Minh Khai, quartier de Saïgon (ancien district 1)

    In the heart of the centre, a stone's throw from Le Van Tam park and the Institut français, which shares the building. Procedures by appointment; passport and ID card collection Monday and Tuesday 13:30 to 16:00 and Friday 13:30 to 15:00; no parking on site.

    Website Source

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Housing: neighbourhoods and renting

French families follow the schools and hospitals: Thao Dien and An Phu in the east for villas and compounds, Binh Thanh for its recent towers, Phu My Hung in the south for its parks, the centre for neighbourhood life. The market moves fast and almost everything is let furnished.

Good to know

  • Since July 2025, the city has absorbed Binh Duong and Ba Ria-Vung Tau and official addresses no longer cite districts but wards (phuong): you will read 'phuong Sai Gon' or 'former District 7', yet everyone still says District 1, 2 or 7. Source
  • Choose the neighbourhood with the school: the Lycée Marguerite Duras is in Long Binh, in the east, and its school bus serves the city; Boule et Billes has one campus in Binh Thanh and one in Thao Dien, with a shuttle from Phu My Hung. Source
  • Flats are let furnished and equipped, most often with a one-year lease and a deposit of one to two months; rents in Thao Dien compounds and Binh Thanh towers are negotiable, especially for a long commitment.
  • Your landlord must declare your temporary residence to the ward police: ask for the residence certificate, it is one of the proofs of address accepted by the consulate and by banks. Source
  • Local pitfalls: check the air conditioning and damp, insulation against motorbike noise, the lift and balcony safety, and do a photo inventory; the rainy season quickly reveals leaks.
  • Vietnam's big cities often rank among the most polluted in the world in the dry season: for a long stay, the consulate advises a home equipped with air purifiers. Source

Addresses

  • Thảo Điền et An Phú (ancien district 2)

    Neighbourhood

    The expat families' neighbourhood: villas and compounds with pools, the Boule et Billes campus, international clinics (Family Medical Practice, Hanh Phuc, AIH), the CCI France Vietnam offices, Western-style cafés and shops. The highest rents in the city.

    Source

  • Bình Thạnh et Vinhomes Central Park

    Neighbourhood

    Recent towers with pools and a riverside park, the Boule et Billes primary campus, Vinmec Central Park hospital, ten minutes from the centre. A good compromise between the centre and Thao Dien.

    Source

  • Phú Mỹ Hưng (ancien district 7)

    Neighbourhood

    The new town of the south: tree-lined avenues, parks, international schools, FV Hospital and a Family Medical Practice clinic, school shuttle to Boule et Billes. Quiet and very family-oriented, further from the French lycée.

    Source

  • Le centre : anciens districts 1 et 3

    Neighbourhood

    Consulate, Institut français and IDECAF, Tao Dan park, zoo, museums and the metro: Saigon life on foot, in smaller flats or townhouses. Handy for a parent working downtown.

    Source

  • Thủ Đức est et Long Bình (ancien district 9)

    Neighbourhood

    The Lycée Marguerite Duras is here, at the end of metro line 1, in an area under heavy construction: new developments, plenty of space, but fewer shops and less francophone life.

    Source

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Phone and insurance

You get a SIM card at an official store with your passport. As for insurance, car or scooter cover is compulsory, health cover essential.

Good to know

  • A SIM card or eSIM is bought in an official shop (Viettel, Vinaphone, MobiFone) on presentation of your passport, the line being registered in your name; a data plan is enough for Grab, maps and the school's WhatsApp and Zalo groups.
  • Vehicle insurance is compulsory to drive in Vietnam, car and two-wheeler alike, and the drink-driving limit is zero. Source
  • Health insurance with repatriation cover is essential: care, especially private, can be very expensive and is never covered by the embassy or the consulate. Source
  • A foreign employee with a work permit and a Vietnamese contract of at least one year pays into compulsory social insurance; public health insurance applies from one month of contract. It opens public hospitals, but expat families keep private cover. Source

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Banking and money

A local bank account is used to receive your salary and pay by transfer or QR code, which is everywhere, down to the fruit seller. Plan a branch visit to open it.

Good to know

  • To open an account, a bank asks for a passport valid for at least 60 more days with a valid visa or residence document, a branch visit to register your biometric data and, depending on the case, your employment contract; no dong account, no debit card. Source
  • Until your local account is open, your French bank card covers the first purchases, within the limits set by your bank. Wise's multi-currency card is not offered to residents of Vietnam. Source
  • Day to day, you pay by scanning a VietQR code from your banking app: the NAPAS 247 instant transfer goes from one bank to another in seconds. The MoMo and ZaloPay wallets work the same way; keep some cash for markets and taxis anyway. Source
  • Keep at least one account in France, useful for bills and refunds, and tell your bank before you leave: it switches to non-resident status, and some products such as the LEP savings account must be closed. Ask about the conditions it applies to non-residents. Source

Addresses

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Getting set up

No IKEA in Ho Chi Minh City, or anywhere in Vietnam: you furnish your home at Nhà Xinh, BAYA or JYSK, shop for groceries at AEON, LOTTE Mart or Annam Gourmet, and second-hand goes through Chợ Tốt.

Addresses

Getting around with children

The motorbike rules, but a family mostly gets around by Grab, taxi and, since late 2024, by metro. Pavements are often occupied and pushchairs remain a sport; many families end up arranging a driver or the school bus.

Good to know

  • Metro line 1 (Ben Thanh - Suoi Tien) has run since 22 December 2024: 19.7 km, 14 stations including 3 underground, half an hour end to end, with single tickets, day passes and a monthly pass with a student rate. It links the centre, Thao Dien and the lycée area. Source
  • Grab (car or motorbike) and Vinasun and Mai Linh taxis are cheap and booked through an app; request a car to travel with a child seat, as taxis do not carry one.
  • Both French schools have their own transport: the Lycée Marguerite Duras entrusts its routes to MD Bus (online sign-up before summer) and Boule et Billes offers shuttles and home pick-up by zone. Source
  • As a resident, you must convert your French licence into a Vietnamese one, without a test thanks to the bilateral agreement: form, two photos, passport, notarised translation, medical certificate and a copy of your residence card, at the transport department (252 Ly Chinh Thang, former District 3). The international permit is only valid for stays under 90 days. Source
  • Helmets are compulsory on motorbikes, zero alcohol at the wheel, and rental helmets are of very poor quality: if you ride a two-wheeler, buy your own and the children's. Source
  • During Tet, public transport and taxi companies run a minimal service for around ten days: book your trips and flights well ahead. Source

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Admin: taxes, contributions and the consulate

No French-style social security number: a personal tax code, social contributions withheld by the employer and a progressive income tax. The consulate remains your town hall, but it does neither Vietnamese visas nor translations.

Good to know

  • You are a Vietnamese tax resident from 183 days of presence in the calendar year or over any twelve months, or as soon as you have a permanent residence there, a rented home with a fixed-term lease included. Source
  • Anyone with taxable income registers for a tax code; tax on salaries is withheld and paid quarterly, then settled through an annual return by the end of April of the following year. Source
  • The resident scale is progressive, from 5% to 35%; non-residents pay a flat 20% on salaries, subject to the tax treaty with France. Source
  • Social contributions (pension, health) are withheld from the salary of the spouse working under a Vietnamese contract; unemployment insurance applies to Vietnamese nationals only. Source
  • What the consulate does: passports and ID cards, registration of births and marriages, consular register, AEFE school grants (online files on Scolaide, first campaign January to March), elections and means-tested social assistance. Source
  • What it does not do: Vietnamese visas, translations (it refers you to the Institut français and approved notaries), and it covers neither your health costs nor your repatriation. Source

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Budget: what costs more, what costs less

Two items weigh heavily: school and private health insurance, plus rents in the expat neighbourhoods. On the other side, daily life, transport, domestic help and restaurants lighten the bill considerably. No precise figures, but here are the orders of magnitude.

Good to know

  • School: both French schools charge fees, with first-registration rights and rates that depend on the child's nationality; AEFE grants can cover a large part of the fees for French families on modest incomes. Source
  • Health: comparable to or dearer than France for private care, with no French social security refund; international insurance, often provided by the employer, is the item to negotiate before leaving. Source
  • Housing: markedly cheaper than Paris for the same space, except in Thao Dien compounds and new towers, where rents match those of big European cities.
  • Domestic help: a housekeeper or a nanny at home, often full-time, costs a fraction of the French price; it is what changes a family's daily life the most.
  • Transport and restaurants: very cheap, from the metro ticket to Grab and from phở to iced coffee; imported goods (cheese, cereals, European brand nappies), on the other hand, often cost double. Source
  • Car: rarely necessary and expensive to import; a car-free family saves insurance, driver and parking, and lives very well with Grab, the metro and the school bus.

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A place has closed, something has changed? Tell us: the mums of Ho Chi Minh City will thank you.

Sources for this page

The public pages these landmarks come from. The official website always prevails.

  1. 1 Consulat général de France à Hô Chi Minh-Ville
  2. 2 France Diplomatie, entrée et séjour au Vietnam
  3. 3 Consulat, permis de conduire et échange
  4. 4 Consulat, bourses scolaires
  5. 5 PwC Tax Summaries, Vietnam (résidence, impôt, cotisations)
  6. 6 HSBC Vietnam, ouverture de compte
  7. 7 Suối Tiên, la ligne 1 du métro
  8. 8 NAPAS, paiement par code QR

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